Текст книги "Kian"

Автор книги: Tijan

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Текущая страница: 10 (всего у книги 19 страниц)

Snark didn’t say much once I got inside.

When he didn’t take me to my apartment or to the diner, I asked, “Where are we going?”

“To see your boyfriend.”

I groaned. “Jake is not my boyfriend, and we’re not pregn—”

“Kian Maston.” He leveled me with a frown. “And I hope you’re not pregnant because you already have a nightmare on your hands. A kid would make it ten times worse.”

“Good.” Not good, I meant. “And I’m not. I’m not pregnant, that is.”

“I wasn’t saying you were.”

“I know. The guys back there—” I shut up. Snark didn’t give a damn about my work issues. “Did you say we’re going to see Kian?”

“Yep, and don’t even think about lying to me. I know you’ve seen him a few times, and you’ve been in contact over the phone.”

“It wasn’t like that, and he’s gone. It doesn’t matter anyway.”

“It does matter, and he’s not gone. Your boy never checked out of the hotel when his PR and legal team checked out. And, yes, Jo, I know all about the interview he did with your roommate and the school paper.” He opened the console and pulled out a folded paper, tossing it onto my lap. “Did you actually read what your friend wrote?”

“Um…”

Erica thought I had.

“My summer hobby has been avoiding all news outlets. Why?”

“Because there’s a huge section all dedicated to you, and I’m assuming his legal team was successful with turning the investigation in your direction, not his.”

“What? How can that even be? He said he killed Edmund. That’s irrefutable.”

“Not if he was set up.” As he pulled into a parking lot, he gave me a meaningful look.

“By me? Kian and I didn’t even really know each other before Edmund. I knew of him. He was popular, but I wasn’t.” I tried to glimpse the front of the building. I assumed it was a hotel because that’s where Kian was staying, but there was no sign on the front. There was nothing that really identified what hotel it was, and I was distracted by what Snark was saying to study it any more. He drove quickly to the back of the hotel.

“Were you invited to their parties?”

“My boyfriend was. I went once because of him.”

“Did the other girls hang out with you?”

“No, they didn’t like me. They made fun of me, called me Charity Case at that party. It’s why I only went once with my boyfriend.”

“Kids can be cruel. I’m sure it’s the same nowadays.” After parking, he gestured to the door. I followed his cue and got out as he did the same. “Actually, I bet they’re worse nowadays. I’ve got a kid in school, but she’s in the sixth grade. I don’t know what I’ll do when she gets older.”

“You’re FBI. I doubt she’s going to be looked at like a charity case,” I murmured as I craned my head back to take in the entire hotel. The entire hotel was made up of dark mirrored glass.

“True.” Snark reached for the door and held it open for me.

When we got to the elevators, I asked, “Where are we?”

“Your new boyfriend’s ritzy place. The Maston.”

“Oh.” My eyebrows shot up.

I’d forgotten Kian’s family business wasn’t just in restaurants but also hotels. I thought the Seton was the ritziest in the city, but I’d forgotten all about The Maston. If a hotel could be a six-star, this one would’ve been. It was exclusive. Even some celebrities couldn’t get rooms here.

The elevator door slid open and revealed a glass box. A pool glistened up to us from beneath, reflecting the light from the sky above us. As we traveled to the top floor, I noticed each floor had a different theme. The lobby was extravagant with fountains and gold lining everywhere. That was the only glimpse I got. Then, we were going past the second floor, which was blue. The third was red. The fourth was silver. The fifth…

I got dizzy from trying to take everything in, and I closed my eyes. When we stopped, there were three doors in a small hallway.

The far one opened.

Kian stood there. “Snark.”

Forgetting the impressive setting or how gorgeous Kian looked in a lightweight hoodie that molded to accentuate his broad shoulders and trim waist, I looked between the two as we went inside Kian’s penthouse suite. “You two know each other?”

Snark didn’t answer. He went into a living area, complete with two couches, a fireplace, a desk, an entire wall of books, and a wet bar at the other end.

Kian followed behind and took a small breath. His eyes narrowed, resting on Snark. “Only by reputation.”

Snark grunted, glaring right back. “His family asked enough higher-ups to figure out that I could have been one of the agents who had helped you disappear. But, no, we’ve never formally met.”

“Until today.” Kian hid a grin.

Snark’s lips pressed in a flat line and he acknowledged, with a clipped head nod. “Until today.”

“Okay.” A headache was pressing against my temples. “Kian, what are you still doing here?”

“I wanted to stick around.”

“Why?”

Snark grunted. “To be close by when his team threw you to the wolves.”

Kian’s eyes narrowed to slits. His face wore an unreadable mask, but I caught the dark heat stirring in his eyes. A shiver wound down my spine, but I wasn’t sure if it was the bad kind or not.

His voice was low and controlled. “They’re searching for Jordan, not Jo. They have no idea who she is now.”

“I got a phone call this morning from one of my supervisors.”

“You did?” My chest was so damn tight. “What did your supervisor want?”

“For me to give you up, but I don’t have to, and my supervisor knows that. I have no legal obligation to hand you over, and even if the police issue a warrant for your arrest—”

Kian cut in, “Which is highly unlikely. There’s nothing to incriminate Jordan for the angle they’re going toward.”

Snark kept talking as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “The FBI doesn’t have to help out the local police department, but having said that, you didn’t officially go into the Witness Protection Program.”

I was left hanging. “So? What does that mean? I know I’m not officially in the program, but you helped hide me anyway. What does that mean?”

Kian stepped toward me, turning to face me squarely. His back was now to Snark. “That means”—his soft voice turned my shiver to the bad kind, the really bad kind—“that they can find you.”

“Fuck that.” Snark came around. “They will find you. This one found you. I take it, the guy you used isn’t on your daddy’s payroll?”

Kian cast him a disdainful look. “No. I learned long ago to employ my own people and”—a glimmer of a smirk showed—“my people are better.”

“You haven’t given her up yet, or her new name would be plastered all over the news. Why not?”

“Because I don’t want that to happen.”

“So, this is okay? It’s your team who got the DA to go after her. It’s your team who spun everything around, and it was you who did that interview.”

That interview…Erica’s interview. I was still holding on to the paper. I looked down at it. What had Kian said in it? What had I avoided that I could’ve been prepared for by now?

Kian took the paper from me and threw it on the couch. He pointed at it, his jaw clenched tightly. “What I said signified nothing. They’re reaching for a crapshoot.”

“They have a witness. They’ve talked to someone who’s backing up the new investigation.”

“They have nothing. If they do, it’s someone from high school who has an agenda and wants to be famous. That’s it. The witness will be discredited. It’s only a matter of time before that happens, and, no, they won’t find Jo. I’ve made sure of that.”

“Wait, what do you mean?” A buzzing started between my ears. I shook my head, trying to clear it, but it only grew louder.

Snark ignored me, his voice rose. “Your team is behind this.”

“Not my team. I’ve instructed them to leave Jordan alone.”

“So, they did try to go after her?”

“They asked in the beginning, but I made it clear that I wouldn’t ruin Jordan’s life. This is my life. I killed Edmund, and she had nothing to do with it. If they’re going to try to blame her, they will fail.”

Snark started to argue, “An eyewitness—”

“Stop!” My hands clamped over my ears. That buzzing sound was too much. My headache was pulsating against my temples now. “Stop, you guys.”

Kian moved to me, taking one of my hands in his. He pulled me to him, wrapping his other arm around my back. He began rubbing at my temple, easing the headache away, and I should’ve pulled away. This was weird—or it should’ve been weird, but it wasn’t. That was the weird part of it. It felt so right to be in his arms, to have him pull me to his chest, to have him soothe out my pain. Like in the nightclub closet, I didn’t want to pull away. I wanted to burrow closer against him.

Kian is going to protect me. My insides were blaring this message to me. I wanted to believe it. I really did.

As if sensing my struggle, he held me tighter.

I relaxed into him, tuning out everything, as his hand continued to rub in a circle over my temple. Slowly, so slowly, the headache began to dissipate. My chest loosened, and I clung to his side as he talked to Snark.

His voice reverberated through him as my ear was pressed to his chest while he said, “I didn’t say anything in that interview to incriminate her. Trust me, no one knows she’s here. No one. Not my team, not my family. The only one who knows, besides those in this room, is my private investigator, and no one knows about him either.”

“Your father never got to him?”

For the first time since we’d arrived, Kian relaxed. He was amused. “My father is the last person who would help me.”

I frowned and pulled back. “What do you mean?”

He frowned back at me, rubbing my arm.

Snark distracted us. “If you’re saying the truth, why are you here?”

Kian glanced down at me. He looked torn.

I pulled all the way back, stepping away, so he couldn’t touch me. Folding my arms over my chest, I said, “Answer him, Kian.”

“Staying in this hotel wasn’t thought-out. I needed the best security, and my father’s hotel has it, but you’re right. I’ll check out and go somewhere else tonight.”

Snark pointed at me. “You need all the footage of her wiped from this place.”

“You came in the back way?”

“Like you instructed.”

So, they had talked, at least before we’d arrived today. I wanted to know what else had been spoken between them.

Kian raked a hand over his hair and moved to the phone. “The only footage would’ve been the back elevator and parking ramp. I’ll have my investigator sweep the footage. Any direct order from me will be suspicious. He’ll have to sneak in to do it.”

“Can he get it done?”

“He can.” Kian was grave as he dialed the front desk. “Yes, I’ll be checking out within the hour. I’ll need transportation arranged. No. I’ll instruct them from the vehicle. Thank you.” He studied me. “You need a hat.”

He started to leave the room.

Snark stopped him. “No.” He shrugged off his jacket and gave it to me. “Put that on, and pull the hood up. When we leave, you keep your head down.”

I nodded. Fuck. The more we talked, the more this was getting really real.

The boulders were back in my stomach. Snark started for the door, and I followed, but Kian caught my arm. Before opening the door, Snark looked back and paused.

Kian asked him, “Mind if we have a moment?”

Snark’s eyes went flat, but he said, “Fine. One minute, and then she’s leaving with me.”

As soon as the door shut behind him, I whirled to Kian. “What did you say in that interview?”

He hesitated. “You haven’t read it, I take it?”

“No, I avoid everything with the news. Since you got released, that’s all I’ve been doing. I stick my head in the sand, and I walk.”

A flicker of a smile appeared, but it disappeared as he grabbed the paper and pushed it back into my hand. “Read it on the way to wherever you’re going with him. Call me, if you want.”

“Kian?”

“Read it. Then, call.” He paused and added, “If you want.”

“You’re acting weird. What could you have possibly said in there to get the DA to want to find me, to get Snark acting like a bee had stung him on the ass, and to have you acting almost…” Self-conscious. “Never mind.” I swallowed over a knot in my throat. “Read it. Got it. I’ll call.”

“Are you okay?”

“I have no idea how I am.” That was the truth, but I was mostly scared, terrified even. “I’ll be fine.”

“They don’t know where you are. And whatever they’re saying on the news isn’t true. No warrant has been issued for you. They just want to talk to you. That’s all. They want to ask questions, but if they can’t find you, they can’t ruin your life.” He visibly grimaced. “I’m sorry this is happening.”

Again.

He held that word back, but I knew what he meant. I heard it anyway. A media frenzy was coming my way. Whether I announced myself or not, they’d find me.

“They’re going to crucify me, aren’t they?”

He pulled me to him and held tight. “Not if I can help it.”

“Where will you go?” I asked after I pulled away and went for the door.

“I’m not sure yet. I would’ve gone to the Seton, but they know I did the interview there. Too much attention.”

I held the paper up. “Call after I read, right?”

“If you want.”

“Okay.” I waved with the paper in hand. “I suppose it’s see you later now? We’ve moved on to that.”

The corner of his mouth lifted. “I suppose so.” He paused, and then the other corner lifted, too. “It feels nice.”

A knot lodged in my throat again, and I couldn’t talk around it. As I pulled the door shut behind me, I knew I’d call, no matter what. I’d see him again.

That felt right, too.

Snark reached over me and yanked up the hood of his jacket. “Head down, and here we go.”

It was later, as Snark pulled up a block away from my apartment, that I thought to ask, “Why did you take me with you? Why did you go to see him?”

“Because I had to know.”

“Know what?”

He held my gaze steady. “If he was the one who had set you up.”

I swallowed tightly. “And?”

“I still have no idea.” He gave me a sad smile.

But that means…

“You think he’s pretending?”

“I don’t know what I think anymore. I really don’t.”

The right feeling I’d had with Kian was washed away with those few words. I was back to square one again. I still didn’t know if I could trust Kian or not. I crumpled the paper up in my hands. I needed to read it, I knew that, and I would, but damn, I just wanted to avoid it for now.

“I can’t hide from this, can I?”

“You can try. They might drop their angle, and your life might not be upended. That could happen, so chin up, kiddo.” He tapped under my jaw. “No one’s going to start looking at you like you’re Jordan Emory unless you wear a shirt that says you’re Jordan Emory.”

“Right. No T-shirts with my old name.”

“Damn straight.” He gestured to the sidewalk. “Now, get walking. I dropped you off, so you can walk in without my car being on any footage.”

“Thank you, Snark.”

“Ned.”

“What?”

“My real name is Ned.”

Ned. Ned Snark. I grinned at him. The name fit his old and cranky self.

“Thank you, Ned.”

“Yeah, yeah. Get going, you little hussy. And stay out of trouble. Oh…”

I paused, again.

He was serious. “I know you’re not asking, and I know my opinion might not hold any weight with you, but I’d pick the other guy.”

Jake. Not Kian.

I knew whom he meant, but I didn’t reply as I got out and shut the door. When I walked through my apartment door a few minutes later, Jake stood up from my couch.

I stopped, surprised.

He was in my apartment, waiting for me, with a grave expression on his face.

Then, he said two words, “Jordan Emory.”

Oh, fucking hell.

Kian’s voice came from the television screen before I could say anything. “People want me to blame Jordan, but I never will.”

What the…

Jake flashed me a grin and sat on the couch. Erica was on the coffee table. Her leg was resting on her knee, and she was holding a notepad, hunched over it.

Jake said again, “Jordan Emory. That’s her name?”

“Yeah.” Erica was writing something on the paper.

Kian’s voice continued from the television, “She had no part in it. People are fixated with what I look like, my last name, who my father is, and my promising future, my supposed promising future. But those people are wrong. They’re forgetting one small detail. Jordan.”

“What are you watching?” My breath was stuffed in my throat.

Erica grabbed the remote and hit the pause button. “I’m going over the interview before we send it off.”

“Going over it?” I swallowed painfully, edging closer to them.

“We sold it. I’m just doing the final edits for another piece I’m going to write up myself. I’m going to a different paper with it.”

“Can you do that? Won’t Susan get mad?”

Erica shrugged. Her eyebrows locked forward, and her chin hardened. “I don’t care. His team requested me, not her. This story is just as much mine as hers, and I can write my own spin on the whole thing.” She pressed Play.

Kian’s voice sounded again. “She wasn’t rich. She had no family. Her home was her prison. She dated Justin Cavers because of one thing. He took her away from that hell. My life is no more important than hers. Who my father is doesn’t matter when compared to the lack of hers.”

Jake snorted, folding his arms over his chest. “Easy thing for him to say. He’s got a privileged future ahead of him, no matter what he does.”

Erica held a hand up. “Shh.”

Kian continued, “My future would have meant nothing if I had done nothing. She wouldn’t have had a future. I believe that. She wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t stepped in. I know everyone is asking where she is, but it doesn’t matter. She’s safe. Her life is as important as mine, and honestly, I think her future is more important than mine. Who am I? I grew up rich. I grew up spoiled. I was given all the blessings in the world—looks, charisma, personality, intelligence. Everything.”

Jake rolled his eyes. “What a douche. Girls fall for this shit?”

Erica fixed him with a glare and paused the recording again. “Do you mind? I need to get all this information before Susan realizes it’s gone.”

I gritted my teeth. Press Play. Press Play, Erica. I needed to hear what he had to say.

Jake stood, raking a hand through his hair. His shirt lifted from the movement. Seven months ago, I would’ve salivated at the little peek, but now, I was transfixed by the screen.

Even when Kian was paused, his eyes were mesmerizing. He wasn’t looking at whoever had asked him the questions. He was gazing right into the camera. There was a somberness in his eyes, and it was like he was speaking to me. I knew millions of other girls would feel the same way as I did. That look from him dug deep into my chest. It was like he was burrowing a place for himself right inside my chest.

“This is unreal. Females are dumb.”

“Dude.” Erica smacked his arm. “Shove it. This is journalistic gold. He’s right. The only reason his story got national attention is because of his face and his family’s wealth. That’s it. There are a lot of murders that happen, but none get the accolade he’s received. And so what?” She shrugged again. “Who cares if he’s feeding us bullshit? For what it’s worth, I do think he meant what he said. He cares for that girl.”

“Then, where the hell is she?”

“That’s the point of our story. He’s opened up about her, and he’s never done that before. That’s the big question. Where is Jordan Emory? He’s not really the story anymore. It’s her. People want to know about this chick, and she’s missing.”

“Can you blame her?” Jake threw me a frown as he said to Erica, “I’d hide, too, if I had to deal with this guy.”

“Well.” Erica lifted the remote again. “And the media. I mean, seriously, the girl’s going to get her ass ripped apart whenever they find her.”

“You think she went into Witness Protection?” Jake was still studying me.

“Who knows? It’ll all come out eventually.” She pressed Play. “It always does.”

Kian continued, “I couldn’t have survived what she did. She persevered…”

Jake moved closer to me, tugging me further from the television. He lowered his voice, bending close to me. “Hey, you okay?”

Erica was right. It was going to come out. I had to stop hiding and face it. My jaw was trembling. I felt wetness on my cheeks, and I raised a hand, feeling the tears there.

“Hey, hey.” Jake caught my face and lifted it. He was peering down at me. “What’s wrong? Talk to me. Wait, aren’t you supposed to be at work? I was going to come and take your break with you.”

Erica glanced over, but she was distracted by the interview. A small frown marred her face before she resumed taking notes.

I sucked in a hasty breath. If Erica noticed something was wrong, she’d dig into me and demand to know what it was.

Turning my back so that she couldn’t see my face, I looked toward the floor, keeping my voice low. “I’m fine. I…wait, if you were going to come to my work, what are you doing here?”

Jake straightened abruptly and jerked back a step. “I came here to look for you.”

“No, he didn’t,” Erica called over. “He’s not telling the truth. He was at the paper to see Susan. I made him feel like shit for that, so I asked him to bring the DVD here.”

“Why?” I frowned. “They don’t frisk you, do they?”

She snorted. “Susan would love it if they did. Nope. I incriminated your boyfriend for two reasons. One, he owes me, and two, when Susan asks me if I took the DVD home for any reason, I can honestly say that I didn’t.”

“Are you serious?” I couldn’t tell sometimes with her.

She grunted, turning back to the television. “As a heart attack. I need as much extra advantage over Susan as possible. I’m in the battle of my career…before my career has really started.”

There was a break in the conversation as Kian’s voice carried over. “She didn’t persuade me to do it. She didn’t brainwash me to do it. She didn’t blackmail me. She didn’t even ask me. She did nothing.”

A lump sat at the back of my throat. It was permanently lodged there.

“She did nothing.”

Erica’s voice added to his. “The girl’s going to get her ass ripped apart whenever they find her. It’ll all come out eventually.”

An image of Kian holding me flashed in my mind.

“They’re going to crucify me, aren’t they?”

He had pulled me tighter to him. “Not if I can help it.”

“I have to go,” I choked out.

“What?” Jake asked.

Erica paused the tape again. She didn’t say anything.

I turned back for the door.

“Wait. Jo, come on.” Jake was right behind me.

“No.”

His hand came down on my shoulder.

I shrugged it off, opening the door. “I have to go.”

“But—”

Erica was standing up from the coffee table. She was frowning at me, but she wasn’t as concerned as Jake. A ripple of fear started inside me. What if she was starting to piece it together?

I blocked Jake from following me. “Don’t. I have to go.”

“Where are you going?”

I started down the hallway. He was coming right behind me.

“Stop, Jake!” I yelled over my shoulder. “I mean it. I…” Think, Jordan, think. “I have to go and do something. I’ll be back later.”

I didn’t think.

I ran.

Grabbing a cab, I didn’t think again when I told the driver where to go. When he pulled up outside of The Maston, I caught sight of a car heading to the back of the hotel. “Follow that car.”

“You sure?”

No. “Yes.”

And I was right. The car pulled up to a back door. A driver got out, went to the side, and opened the rear door. The hotel door then opened, and Kian walked out.

I dug out some money, tossed it to the driver, and said, “Thank you.” I was outside then and hurrying forward. “Kian.”

He handed his bag to the driver and bent down to climb into the back, but he paused. Seeing me, he straightened back up. He didn’t say anything until I was right in front of him. His dark eyes raked over me, but there was no reaction to seeing me.

I hesitated then. Maybe I shouldn’t have come?

His head lowered a fraction of an inch. His eyes became lidded. “What are you doing here?”

I flushed. His tone was quiet, but he didn’t seem upset. He sounded worried. The lump in the back of my throat was swallowed, and I felt like I could breathe easier. “I’m going to be found, aren’t I?”

He didn’t answer. That mask was so unreadable.

I wanted him to give me something. “Kian?”

He sighed, his shoulders dropping. “Probably.”

“I want to come with you,” I blurted out. What the hell?

I should have regretted my words. I didn’t. They were true. If I was going to be discovered, I needed to be with someone who had endured everything before, too.

“We can be a team, you know? If you’re supporting me, maybe they won’t destroy me, or as much as they would’ve if you weren’t with me. It could work.” I winced, hearing a twinge of fear in my voice. I couldn’t mask it.

“Jo…”

I shook my head. “I’m scared, Kian. It’s going to happen.” I echoed Erica’s words. “It’ll all come out eventually.”

He looked behind me and frowned. His hand came to my shoulder, and he urged me to the door. “Get inside.”

When I started to, he didn’t move to follow me.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

His frown deepened. “I’ll be right back.”

Scooting over to the far side of the car, I twisted around, so I could see out the back window. It was shaded black, like all the windows. No one could see in, but I could perfectly see Kian. He approached the cab, his hand in the air in a greeting. The cab driver rolled his window down, and Kian gestured to the dashboard.

Shit.

There was a dash camera, and it had been aimed right at us.

My hand curled into the back of the seat as I waited.

The cab driver nodded, and then Kian reached inside his pocket. He took a wad of money from his wallet and handed it over. The cab driver pulled off the dash camera and handed it to Kian. My hand let go of the seat, and I started to relax again, but, no, Kian didn’t leave. He pointed inside the cab again. The cab driver shook his head. Kian didn’t move. The driver continued to shake his head, and Kian leaned further down. The driver went stock-still, and he didn’t look away from Kian. Slowly, the driver reached down and then handed something to Kian. Taking it, Kian put it into his pocket and came back.

When he got inside, he touched a button on the door. “You can go, Emile.”

Our car slid forward.

Something about his exchange with the cab driver sent chills down my back. I waited, wondering if he would share what was in his pocket. He didn’t. He rested back and closed his eyes. In that moment, Kian wasn’t the guy I had met on the roof. There was no outward change to his appearance, but a sixth sense reared up in me. The promise of violence clung to him. Butterflies kicked up in my stomach again, but caution was in there, too.

“What did you take from that guy?”

He didn’t look at me, but he reached inside his pocket and held out a flash drive. He held the dash camera to me, too. “So, there’s no evidence of you with me.”

“You bribed him.”

“At first.” His eyes found mine.

I was wrong. This was the Kian who had killed Edmund. He was right next to me. All of that same cold intent was packed in his eyes. The shiver wound its way through my body again, but there was something else. The fear was gone. That shiver was a different kind. It was intoxicating.

“At first?” My voice was hoarse.

“If I only paid him, he would’ve sold something else—what you look like now, where you live, that you had him drive you behind my hotel to meet with me.” His jaw clenched, and he turned to look out the window. “I did what I had to do.”

He’d threatened the driver.

I waited a beat, but there was no fear, no judgment, no warning. Nothing.

He looked back to me. “Are you okay with that?”

I said the truth, “You protected me.”

He held my gaze. He was testing me, seeing if I meant what I’d said. I did. I would’ve been discovered and because of a cab driver. I’d made the mess, and Kian had cleaned it up for me.

I leaned back to him. “Thank you.”

He didn’t reply. He didn’t need to. The tension in the air lifted.

As his car drove us to his new place, for once in a really long time, I felt like I wasn’t alone. It almost felt just right.